1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a leader tape having surface properties and conductive properties for securing slide durability suitable for a magnetic tape drive for driving one reel cartridge, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A magnetic tape cartridge constituted by rotatably storing a single reel on which a magnetic tape is wound in a cartridge case consisting of an upper cartridge and a lower cartridge as an external recording medium for data backup of a computer or the like, that is, one reel type magnetic tape cartridge has been known. When the one reel type magnetic tape cartridge is not used, the magnetic tape is completely involved in the reel. When the one reel type magnetic tape cartridge is used, the magnetic tape is pulled out and is introduced into a recording/reproducing device, and thereby data or the like is recorded and replayed. A drawing member is provided at the starting end of the magnetic tape in order that the recording/reproducing device pulls out the magnetic tape from the cartridge case. As this drawing member, a leader block, a leader pin and a leader tape have been known.
The leader block and the leader pin are attached to the magnetic tape or the leader tape made of the magnetic tape, and are loaded in a storing recessed part provided in a take-up reel hub in the tape drive of the recording/reproducing device. However, in this storing recessed part, level difference with the take-up reel hub is easily generated, and an influence applied to the magnetic tape by the level difference poses a problem.
On the other hand, when only the leader tape is joined to the starting end of the magnetic tape, the leader tape must have a certain level of rigidity, so-called “stiffness” so as to correspond to tension force added at the time of drawing the magnetic tape. The buckle member of the side of the drive of the recording/reproducing device hook hooks the leader tape having “stiffness,” and the magnetic tape is taken up on the take-up reel in the drive. Since this leader tape requires “stiffness,” the base part thereof has a certain level of thickness (150 μm to 200 μm), and level difference is formed at a joining part of the magnetic tape having a thickness of about 4 μm to about 12 μm thinner than that of the base part and the leader tape. Then, so as to reduce the level difference, a method for forming a gradual reducing part of which the thickness is gradually reduced in a tapered shape toward the joining part by machining, has been known (see Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-11591, and Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-113435). However, when the gradual reducing part is formed by machining, the adhesiveness with a splicing tape used for joining poses a problem depending on the surface properties of the processing surface, and the joining of the leader tape and magnetic tape cannot be reliably strengthened.
The leader tape is conventionally made of a material consisting primarily of PET or PET. While the leader tape has high tensile strength, the leader tape is easily charged, and thereby there is a concern that electrostatic friction occurs between the leader tape and an MR head used for high-density recording. Therefore, a method for coating or coating carbon black on the surface has been proposed (see Japanese published examined application No. S62-15945, and Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H5-314452). However, since the magnetic tape slides on a head or a guide part at high speed in a high capacity/highly accurate drive of a data backup used in recent years, and data is read out and written simultaneously and repeatedly, the slight generation of abrasion powder causes an error, and may become one of the causes of serious trouble. Therefore, Japanese Published Examined Utility Model Application No. S49-42726 has proposed a method for irregularly forming the surface of the leader tape and cleaning the head and the guide part due to the irregularity. However, the cleaning effect of the leader tape is not permanent, and rather the probability that the abrasion of the leader tape causes an error is high. A leader tape obtained by using a film consisting of resin containing the carbon black as the base material of the leader tape, roughing the surface of the base material using sandblast, and applying or coating a conductive agent has been known. However, the adhesion of the conductive agent is worsened, and it has also been understood that the exfoliated conductive agent causes a dropout.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a leader tape having surface properties and conductive properties for securing slide durability suitable for a magnetic tape drive using a magnetic tape cartridge of one reel cartridge.